Till Travelling Days Are Gone
by Laume
Summary: Sequel to Unleashed Madness. Neville leaves England to travel and prepare for his career as a healer. He decides to invite a friend along on his travels. But of course, things aren't just THAT easy.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Sniffff…when I had posted the last chapter of Unleashed Madness lots of people got angry! But be at ease…I had already been planning a sequel to it. (Yes, even though I denied it. Evil me. Sorry.) This is it. The first chapters are a bit fluffy, but I promise to reduce the fluff to more manageable levels soon.

**Till Travelling Days are Gone**

Neville stalked out of the Ministry building. As soon as he was well out of sight, he apparated to Hogwarts, where he bustled through the people busy with cleaning up the aftermath of the battle.

Minerva had survived, as had Remus Lupin. Shacklebolt hadn't. The Auror had fallen protecting Draco from Lucius. Lucius had killed his own son, but died from the wounds he had sustained. The Weasleys, through some miracle, hadn't lost anyone, though Molly and the twins were badly hurt and would need lots of time to recover. Professor Flitwick had died. Neville felt the most pain over the death of Professor Sprout. She had encouraged his love for plants and spent a lot of time teaching him in his first years at Hogwarts.

His head bowed, ruminating on the losses, he reached the empty library. He pressed the button and entered the secret chambers of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Hermione sat in the library, reading quietly. He smiled at her and moved to the painting of the thankfully awake dragon. Tickling it and giving the password, he entered.

A bed had been set up in the room. Minerva and Harry sat next to it.

"How is he?" Neville asked. The Headmistress smiled. "Still weak, but improving." A shaky voice came from the bed.

"So, you did pull it off, mr Longbottom."

Neville grinned, and moved to the bed to grasp the hand of the prostrate man on it. "We all did. It's good to see you awake again, Severus."

Minerva left. Harry had agreed to finally do a press conference. He lingered by the bed a while longer before taking his ex-professors hand from Neville.

"I was an ungrateful brat to never thank you, sir," he said, blushing, "for saving my life so many times. I can't ever repay you enough. Thank you for looking out for me."

Severus smiled and squeezed lightly. "That's ok, Harry. You did save all of us."

He closed his eyes a second, and a familiar sneer appeared on his face. "Just don't let it all go to your head, Potter," he said, but there was no more malice behind it. An old joke now. Harry grinned and gently put the hand back on the bed.

"I better go and see that bloody press," he said, chagrined. He handed Neville a mirror.

"Half of the two way mirror Sirius gave me," he said, "thought you might like to see me sweat in front of the assembled press."

Neville laughed. "You sound like you fear the press more then Voldemort," he teased.

Harry nodded. "Infinitely more," he confessed, "do you think there's a prophecy somewhere about someone destined to kick Rita Skeeter's ass?"

Severus chuckled. "I think that would be Hermione," he said, "she told me about catching her in fourth year and locking her in a glass jar."

Harry's face brightened. "Oooooh good idea, if she annoys me, I'll just drop a slight reminder in my answers to her, that should keep her at bay. Thanks Severus."

He nearly danced out the door, no doubt already formulating 'slight reminders' for the Skeeter cow.

"HARRY!" Neville yelled, "Remember that Severus is supposed to be dead, ok? Don't let anything slip in your excitement to get back at that old cow." Harry nodded and danced on.

Neville enlarged the mirror and levitated it so it hovered a few feet above the bed. They watched with interest as they saw Rita Skeeter in the front row.

"Mr Potter," one of the reporters began, "You are the Hero of the Wizarding World now. What was it like, to defeat Voldemort?"

Harry sighed. "Well, in case you didn't notice, I wasn't the only one fighting. I could never have done it without my friends. Some of which did not survive. I couldn't have fought Voldemort if Ron and Hermione hadn't been there to keep other Death Eaters away from us. Not to mention the Order and the Aurors. But most of all, I owe Professor Severus Snape. He saved my life on so many occasions, even when I was too blind to see that. Without him, we would never have stood a chance to defeat Voldemort. He risked so much. He had to endure so much in his short life. His father, Albus Dumbledore…"

here the whole room gasped. Severus was looking at the mirror, his face pale, but never averting his eyes from the boy, no, the man that stood there, telling the whole wizarding world how much they owed him.

Harry held his hand and the room quieted. "His father, Albus Dumbledore, wanted a happy and long life for him. We buried him next to his father in the grave on these grounds. When paying your respects to Albus Dumbledore, please remember that there is another person who deserves your respect just as much as our beloved late Headmaster."

Harry removed his Order of Merlin and held it up. "So, I give up this Order of Merlin to him. To you, Professor Snape."

They would miss Harry's clever remarks to Rita Skeeter. Severus stared at the mirror, tears forming in his eyes. Neville sat down on the edge of the bed, facing him, and gently drew him in a hug. Severus' arms encircled Neville's waist, holding on desperately while he buried his head against Neville's shoulder and cried. Neville rocked him softly, rubbing his back.

After a while Severus drew back. "I'm sorry," he whispered, voice tight. Neville conjured water and a soft cloth and washed the pale face.

"Don't be sorry, Severus. It was about time you had a good cry. Come on, you need to rest."

Severus curled up on his side, facing Neville, who tucked the blankets around him and continued to rub his back when he saw the older man was still shaky from his outburst. A deep sigh. "You would be a very good healer, Neville," Severus said.

Neville grinned. "I think I'd like to be one," he confessed.

Severus nodded. "You'd be great. Oh and mr Longbottom," he added, menacingly, but Neville beat him to it.

"Yes, yes, I know, if I ever tell a living soul that you cried, you will slowly poison me and flay me alive and all that. Or complain to Minerva that you can't hand out detentions anymore."

Severus smiled wryly. "I'm sorry. It's not easy to stop being a jerk all of the sudden. I never was a nice person to begin with."

Neville chuckled. "Oh I dunno. Maybe not, but Dumbledore loved you. McGonagall loves you. The Trio has at long last learned to care about you. And I have considered you one of my friends ever since fourth year."

Severus sighed sleepily. "Yeah, I never quite understood…No matter. I bet Minerva will offer you Herbology now. Will you take it if she does?"

Neville shook his head. "No. Definately not. I'm way to young to be a teacher, and I was serious about becoming a healer. I've already consulted with St. Mungo's. They will take me in to their advanced program two years from now. In the meantime I'm gonna be travelling, both in the Wizarding World and the Muggle world to learn some useful skills."

He hesitated. "If you have nothing planned, you could join me," he said lightly, "I'm sure that there are many interesting potions to be discovered while travelling around."

Severus opened his eyes. "You…are you serious?" he asked. Neville nodded.

"Well, it's not like I had anything to do, being declared dead and all," Severus mused, "And I never expected to survive anyway, so I never…never thought I would have a future. It might be nice, travelling with you…getting away from it all. But my accounts…Now that I'm considered dead, they're probably frozen until my will…." He paled.

Neville smiled. "Your will has already been read. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now. It was read at Gringotts this morning, they had only invited me. The Ministry's not happy with me at the moment, but everything got arranged in the end. I was quite surprised though, that you named me as your heir."

Severus fidgeted with the sheets. "I have no one to leave my possessions to. The only persons I could think of were Albus, but after…after…I changed my will, and the only other person I cared about was you. I…you…I hope you don't mind."

"Mind! I'm honored, Severus. But your accounts are your own, of course. I will have to keep them until we create another identity for you and then I can sign them back over to you."

Severus sighed contently. "Thank you. It's a relief, you know, to be presumed dead. I feel finally free," he said, smiling. Then he remembered something. "Why aren't they happy with you at the Ministry?"

Neville blushed. "I broke Scrimgeours nose when I punched him."

He caught the stunned look on the potions masters face and grinned shyly. Severus snorted, grinned and finally roared with laughter.

"Oh Merlin, I wish I could have seen that," he panted as he lay on his back on the bed, exhausted.

Neville's eyes twinkled. "It was a very satisfying thing to do," he said. Then he pulled the covers back over the older wizard and patted his shoulder. "Now go to sleep. I'm gonna talk to McGonagall and the Trio and arrange for us to leave as soon as you're well again."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N AAARGH! I forgot to put up the 'Not Slash' and 'I'm Not JK Rowling' signs over the first chapter. Sorry! Let me correct that: This story will NOT contain slash and I am not JK Rowling. I just borrow her stuff.

A month later Neville stood in the Entrance Hall with the Trio and the Headmistress.

"Where's Severus?" Hermione asked.

"Saying his goodbyes to Dumbledore's portrait," Neville said, scratching Crookshanks behind his ears, "it's easier for him to do that then go to the grave. He has some issues to work through still, and now we have the time to do that."

McGonagall smiled sadly. "I'm sad to see you go, Neville, you would have been a great teacher."

Neville grinned. "I'm way too young."

"You're the same age as us," Harry said.

He was going to be teaching Defense. Hermione took over Charms. Ron had agreed to stay as flying instructor. Though none of them had sat their NEWTS they had been given honorary degrees for all they had done. To their delight, Remus Lupin returned, agreeing to teach Herbology until a teacher could be found and taking over the 1-4 years Transfiguration classes.

"I wish we could have kept Severus as potions instructor, but he never was patient enough to teach. Still that might have changed now," the Headmistress sighed wistfully.

Severus, meanwhile, was standing in front of the fireplace, looking up at the portrait.

"Hello my boy. I take it you are leaving soon?"

"Yes, Neville is waiting for me in the Entrance Hall."

The eyes of the portrait twinkled, and for once Severus did not scowl at that. "I'm sure these two years will do you good, Severus. And Neville has grown into a fine young man."

"He has," the Potions Master agreed, "The only person I'd rather travel with is you. I never thought to be here now. I just wanted to die and be with you again."

The portrait smiled at him. "My boy, death is a certainty. You will join me some day, and we'll go adventuring together. But not before you have spend many happy years here. So go with Neville and have some fun. That are the last instructions I will ever give you."

Severus snorted. "I bet that as soon as I arrive in the next life, you will start bossing me around again. I certainly hope there are no lemon drops after death."

The portrait actually pouted, but the eyes kept twinkling.

"Go on, Severus. Keep in touch with your friends here. Remember, there's no need to be alone anymore."

Neville was going over his Medikit with Hermione when Severus quietly joined them.

"I've got everything, then. Hopefully we won't be needing this stuff, but you never know."

They had already shrunken their luggage.

"Where are you going, anyway?" Harry asked, a bit sad.

"The mainland first. Going to combine business with pleasure. Severus wanted to visit some muggle museums, and I want to have a few chats with the people at the Institute of Magic in Florence, they have an interesting view on combining muggle and magical healing, it seems."

"Here," Harry said gruffly, shoving a small package into Neville's hands, "take this. It's half of the two way mirror. We can talk through it and it might come in useful if you ever need help."

Neville grinned widely. "Thanks Harry, that is great. We'll be in touch, we promise."

Harry turned to Severus.

"As I said at the press conference, I gave my Order of Merlin to you." He handed his former professor a small box. Severus paled. "But Harry…"

"No buts. If anyone deserves it, it's you. Take good care of yourself…Severus."

"You too, Harry."

The four on the steps stared after the retreating figures, headed for the stolen car. They would return it to its rightful owners, and then travel to mainland Europe muggle style. With some Death Eaters still on the loose, it was the safest way.

"WHOOOOOOHOOOOOO!"

"MR LONGBOTTOM! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"But Sev, you should feel the wind! Come on, join me! Feel the freedom."

"I most certainly will not. And if you fall overboard, don't expect me to levitate you out with all those muggles looking."

"Ah, well, a bubblehead charm and I'll be fine. Stop being such a spoilsport, Sev."

Severus ran for the railing of the ship as the movements caused by a wave made his stomach roil and eject any food in it. When he looked up again, he saw Neville smirking.

"Glad you decided to join me, Sev. Now, come here. Hold on tight and look at the horizon, and feel the wind on your face and through your hair."

Scowling, Severus complied. He didn't have much choice in the matter, what with being weak from seasickness, and Neville forcing him to have fun.

He was determined to hate the experience but to his amazement, hating things didn't come easy anymore. He found that the wind was indeed enjoyable, and he understood what Neville had meant with feeling the freedom.

For the first time he experienced that he was, in fact, free.

Miles and miles away, a small gathering was taking place in a remote house in Land's End.

"Lucius is dead. We don't know what became of Bella, Rast and the others. The Dark Lord will not return this time, that much is obvious. So what are we even here for?"

"Revenge, of course. Harry Potter may have been the only one capable of killing the Dark Lord, but who says only the Dark Lord was capable of killing Potter?"

"Why bother? I say we all move to some remote place till this war is forgotten. Even if we DO manage to kill Potter, we would die in the attempt or be prosecuted all the more fiercely. I'm moving to Russia, apparently there are quite a number of dangerous beasts that need to be slain…"

"Shut up MacNair. Have you no pride left? The Wizarding world trembled in our wake once, and what are we now? Pathetic outlaws, hiding in hellholes like these."

"HEY! What's wrong with my summer cottage?"

"Be quiet, Crabbe. My point is, we are all that is left and we have to do our best…"

"Oh please. Look, let's face it, we lost. The Dark Lord wasn't as powerful as we thought and honestly, I'm beginning to like going through life without getting crucio'ed every week or so. Continuing would only loose us whatever power we have left. It's insane."

"WAIT! SIT! There is one other thing we need to consider."

"And that is?"

"Severus Snape."

"Who is dead. What's there to consider? Let the traitor rot in his grave."

"Do we KNOW he is dead?"

"Don't be obtuse, man, we all saw him fall when the Longbottom kid used the same curse on him as Potter used on the Dark Lord. Serves him right."

"We saw him FALL, but did we see him die?"

"If you are asking me if I stopped to check his breathing and pulse while fleeing for my life, then the answer is no, but if the Dark Lord couldn't survive the curse, certainly Snape wouldn't have stood a chance."

"We can't be sure of that! They might have hidden him!"

"You know, paranoia can be treated nowadays. I hear St. Mungo's has an excellent program.."

SLAP

"OWWW! What'ya do that for?"

"We MUST make sure Snape is dead!"

"Oh, now instead of risking our lives sneaking into Hogwarts to kill Potter, we are now risking our lives sneaking into Hogwarts on the off chance that there MIGHT be only one rotting corpse in that grave instead of two. No thank you."

"You blithering IDIOT! Has Lucius taught you NOTHING? WE won't be sneaking into Hogwarts."

"What, you're gonna accio two rotting corpses all the way through England now?"

ANOTHER SLAP

"Now that MacNair has finally shut up, I can explain. Now, does anybody know where Rita Skeeter lives these days…?


	3. Chapter 3

Florence was nice, they both agreed. Neville didn't have an awful lot of time to go site seeing, as he spent most of his time in the Institution. The Healers there were happy to help him and allowed him to follow them around on their rounds. Severus offered to brew a few difficult potions for them that they couldn't come by. To say they were ecstatic would be an understatement.

"You still have to be careful, Sev," Neville said later, "It is possible someone might recognize your potions ability. You aren't the best of the world for nothing, after all."

Severus shrugged. "I know, but I wanted to do them a favor. I mean, they have been very kind, letting us stay in their facilities. Besides, any decent potions master can brew those potions. AND," he grinned, "they once had a one of the greatest potions masters of Europe here. They promised me I can take a copy of his extensive notes. There's bound to be some interesting stuff in there."

Neville watched him for a while. "Sev, why DID you name yourself the Half Blood Prince anyway?"

Severus shrugged. "Imitating the Dark Lord, childish arrogance, who's to say? I don't need a title anymore. I'm happy now with just being Severus. Can't say I'm happy about the Snape part…"

"You didn't like your father." A statement, not a question.

"I hated my father. And he hated me. Actually he hated me first. But I no longer go by that name, do I? I'm your cousin now, aren't I? Seferat Ingram. Where did you come up with that name anyway?"

"Well, first of all because I can keep calling you Sev without anyone suspecting anything. Reduces the chances of accidentally letting something slip. And Ingram really is my cousins last name; muggle cousins. But, why did your father hate you? I'd have thought a father would be proud to have an intelligent and talented son." Neville said, a bit sad.

Severus glanced at him. "Your father would be proud of you, Neville. Don't believe what you've been told. And no, my father didn't approve of my talents, and he did not believe in my intelligence. And why on earth is that mirror shining?"

Neville jumped up. "Harry's two way mirror. He's calling us. I hope there's no trouble…"

_(Earlier)_

_Daily Prophet Headline_

**SEVERUS SNAPE ALIVE?**

_Recently I, your faithful reporter Rita Skeeter, received information from a reliable source that we, the public might have been deceived. My source suggested that Severus Snape, Death Eater, murderer of Albus Dumbledore, and believed to have died in the final battle against You-Know-Who at the hands of Neville Longbottom, is in fact, still alive._

_Said Neville Longbottom was arrested after he punched our own Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, and broke his nose. The Minister very kindly had presented Mr Longbottom with an Order of Merlin, first class, for killing Severus Snape. An Auror present at the Ministers interview with the young man declared: "Mr Longbottom was out of his mind, the final battle and the stress of the war had finally caught up with the boy." _

_His fellow Auror stated that Mr Longbottom had in fact explained fully why Severus Snape can be trusted and that he approved of his punching the Minister. Surely such persons should be banned from the Auror program? How can the man who defeated the traitor, have defended him? But I digress._

_Harry Potter, the Man Who Conquered, has praised Severus Snape in his speech shortly after the final battle, and even dedicated his Order of Merlin to the supposedly dead traitor. One must question what the war has done to the fragile mind of this child. _

_To show the power young Potter has over the Ministry, Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody, now the head of the Auror Department, has said the following:_

"_Bugger off, woman. Dumbledore was right to trust Snape. The kid is dead now, and we owe him our lives. If Potter and Dumbledore believed him, you'd be wiser to take their word for it." Has Potter managed to get even this veteran under his spell?_

_Mr Longbottom has left the country it seems and cannot be reached to comment upon this new information. _

_If it is indeed true that Severus Snape is still alive, should he not be found and tried? The murderer of Albus Dumbledore can not be allowed to go unpunished, can he? _

_With this question I leave you._

_Your faithful reporter, Rita Skeeter._

Harry groaned. He threw the paper down in front of his friends on the staff table in the Great Hall, now once again populated with children. Fewer then before, but the staff was optimistic that Hogwarts would once again be a thriving school full of young wizarding talent.

"'Mione, Ron, look at what that cow has written now! We need to speak with Minerva immediately."

Ron and Hermione took a look at the newspaper. "Oh great. Let's go."

But before they had even reached the doors, the headmistress entered. "Ah, professor Potter, professor Granger, professor Weasley, I was already looking for you. Would you come up to my office right away, please?"

The Trio nodded and followed the headmistress.

"You know, Minerva, if we act overly concerned, we might give the impression that this article is more then just rubbish."

"Yes, yes, I am well aware. That is why I also have another matter to discuss with you, although we can reconvene for that at a later time. It concerns the request from Durmstrang that we start an exchange students program. Surely no one will think it strange if we have grave objections that need to be discussed. At length."

They reached the office. "Redeemed," Minerva said and they entered.

Dumbledore's portrait smiled and waved. "Hello, professors," it said, beaming proudly.

"Hello sir," they replied before turning to the headmistress.

"The thing is," Harry said, "that we kept it extremely secret. No one except Neville and us knows that Severus is alive. I know Rita Skeeter is still in contact with some Death Eaters that never showed up for the final battle and are still at large. I should think this rumor comes from one of them."

Minerva nodded. "That is a very real possibility. However, why would they suspect he is alive?"

"As far as I can tell, the remaining Death Eaters are splintered. Some want to keep a low profile and hope people will just forget about their role in the war. Others want revenge, on me, but also on Severus were he alive. They know now that he was indeed a traitor, even if they do not know he was the sixth Horcrux. I say we keep quiet about this for a little while, and then organize a memorial service for all who have died in the war, like we planned, and make sure Severus has a prominent place among them. That should put a stop to any unwanted rumors. Meanwhile I will call Neville to tell him about this and make sure they are extremely careful that Severus is not recognized."

"He does kinda stand out," Ron remarked. Hermione sighed and Harry slung his arm around his friends shoulders.

"And that, my dear brother, is why I am the Defense teacher and YOU are the flight instructor. Ever heard of oh, potions, charms, those helpful little tools in changing one's appearance?"

Ron growled. "Humph. I'm not the one she describes as a child with a fragile mind."

"That's just because she doesn't know you very well."

Exchanging friendly punches the two esteemed professors headed to respectively their classroom and the Quidditch pitch, followed by the eye-rolling charms professor.

_(Italy)_

"So that's what happened, Nev. We are not sure who is spreading the rumors, but you two should be very careful. Will you be staying in Florence for much longer?"

Neville looked a bit pale and shaky.

"No, we were planning to leave next week. I'm not sure if I should tell Severus about this. They ARE just rumors, aren't they?"

"Yes, but well…do you plan to force him into putting on extra charms, or are you going to hex him when he isn't looking?"

Neville grinned. "Good point. I just…I finally got him to have some fun, I'd hate to ruin it."

"I'll leave it to you," Harry said, "take care, Nev. And don't worry TOO much, most likely after the memorial service, the rumors will have been dealt with. Should we hear more of this, though, you could apparate back for the service and give a statement. We'll see. I'll talk to you soon."

Severus walked into the room, having left earlier to give Neville some privacy, when Neville put down the mirror.

"Everything ok at Hogwarts?" he asked, throwing a few shopping bags into his bedroom.

Neville sighed. "Yeah, they're fine. Sev, I need to talk to you about something that has come up back in England."

Severus sat down. "Sure."

Neville quickly explained the Daily Prophet article and Harry's suspicions that there were rogue Death Eaters behind it. Severus sat very still when he had finished.

"Severus? Are you okay?"

The potions master's eyes flickered in anger.

"Are you really that stupid, Mr Longbottom? Your plan to keep me safe by pretending I'm dead is evidentially not working out. I could have Death Eaters on my trail any day now. And you ask me if I'm okay? I thought you were smarter then that."

Neville frowned and involuntarily took a step backwards. The potions master threw a mug through the room before stalking off towards his bedroom, robes billowing, reminding Neville forcefully of the man that had been the bane of his existence for nearly four years.

But Neville was a child no longer. He took a deep breath and entered the bedroom, to find the potions master sitting on his bed.

"I'm sorry, Neville. I was a jerk. Since that Horcrux has been removed it's been easier to be civil, but this was just too much. I understand if you want to travel on without me."

Neville walked over and sat next to him. "You absolute idiot. Do you honestly think I would kick you out over a temper tantrum? I'm way to used to that. I know it's a shock, but Harry is right, it's just rumors now. I'll go to the memorial service and nip this problem in the bud."

Severus sighed and stared at his hands. "Thanks. For putting up with me and my bad temper."

Neville turned around so violently that the potions master actually flinched.

"Putting up with you? What do you take me for, Severus Snape? Do you really think I'm still a weak child? I have asked you to come with me as a friend, because that is how I think of you. Not someone I just put up with."

With that, Neville stalked off angrily, leaving a very gobsmacked Severus behind.

A/N well, a long chapter. Longer then usual, anyway. I wanted to focus on the death eaters, but Neville and Severus insisted on exploring their relationship first. That made sense so I agreed. (Merlin, I must be mad if I discuss my story with the main characters)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Hello again. Chapter four. As you could guess from last chapter, it's gonna be doing some emotional healing between Sev and Nev. They insisted that since they are gonna be journeying together, they need to get some things sorted out between them. So, there you go. Oh, they also insist that I put up a flashing 'NO SLASH' sign. To prevent my two main characters from puking all through the story I suppose. _Points at Severus and Neville, who nod fervently._

Severus stared at the door after Neville had slammed it on his way out. He tried to forget the argument, but found he had little luck with that. That night, sleep refused to come as well. He tossed and turned in his bed, replaying the conversation over and over in his head.

Neville wanted him here. He had asked him as a friend, and not out of some sense of guilt or pity. He had agreed to come along because he had nowhere else to go and travelling with Neville was more attractive then staying hidden at Hogwarts.

He blushed as he remembered his treatment of the boy in his first three years at school. He had meant well, but he had only made the situation worse. It wasn't until the end of Neville's third year, when the embarrassment over the Boggart incident had faded, that he realized the implication of it. He had been shocked. HE was a child's greatest fear. No matter what anyone thought, that had not been his intent. He had meant to help.

He smiled sadly as he remembered the conversation he had with Neville over that in the first term of the fourth year.

"_Mr Longbottom."_

_The boy nearly froze, and turned to his teacher with eyes full of fear._

"_I would like a word with you this evening. Report to my office at 8, please."_

_The boy had come, clearly under the impression that he would be serving detention._

"_Sit down, Mr Longbottom. Would you care for some tea?" He had tried to be friendly, but only managed to terrify the child even further._

"_Very well. The reason I wanted to talk to you, Mr…Neville, is that I wish to apologize. I have made a large number of mistakes in how I acted towards you these past years."_

_At that moment he had been sure the boy would faint. _

"…_.sir?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Why would you apologize to me? You hate me."_

_He sighed. "I understand you believe that after the way I've treated you, but no, I don't hate you. I do not wish to be your greatest fear. I felt ridiculed when all the rumors started circulating after your boggart incident, and it took me a long time to realize it meant I am your greatest fear. I feel I should explain to you why I acted the way I did."_

_The boy stared at him, mouth slightly open._

"_Neville? You still with me?"_

_The boy shook his head. "Y-Yes sir." He hesitated. "If you don't hate me, sir, then why do you act like a…" he checked himself quickly._

"_Like a bastard?" Severus supplied helpfully. He sighed again. _

"_I made a stupid mistake. I know your full potential has been blocked by what happened to you as an infant. I hoped that treating you like that would make you mad enough to unlock it. Albus told me repeatedly that I was going about it the wrong way, but he let me."_

_The boy frowned. "And you don't want to continue?"_

_Severus looked thoughtful. "I will have to continue treating you like that in class. It's too dangerous not to. I can't explain more to you right now. But if you like, I will assist with your training. I will recommend books and exercises you can use."_

That conversation had been the beginning of a different kind of relationship with his most troublesome student. Especially during fifth year, when Harry's DA had helped Neville enormously, he had secretly tutored the young man and found he was becoming quite powerful. Although they kept up their act in class, and Neville continued to blow up cauldrons –he was willing to bet the brat even enjoyed that- while he sneered and terrorized the Gryffindor.

Severus sat up and sighed. Four years ago he would have laughed at anyone who would have had the nerve to suggest he might one day be bothered about Neville being angry with him. Before blasting them off the face of the planet.

Deciding sleep was apparently out of the question, he ventured into the livingroom.

He was nearly ready to bolt from the room again when he noticed Neville was sitting curled up in an armchair, reading. Then he mentally kicked himself. Surely after all those years of facing Voldemort, groveling at his feet, he could face a…a friend to apologize!

Neville looked up and saw him. "Hey Sev. I'm planning an outing for tomorrow. How does a boattrip sound?" he grinned evilly at the paling potions master before waving his hand. Two steaming mugs of hot chocolate appeared.

"Guess we can both do with something to help us sleep, eh?" he said.

Severus stared at his mug.

"I'm sorry, Neville. I'm so used to not having friends I don't recognize friendship anymore. I deserve a good kick sometimes."

Neville laughed. "Yes, you do. It's ok, you've been hard pressed this year. These past twenty years or so. It'll take time to heal. I'm sure hearing about rogue death eaters messing with our perfect plan didn't help matters."

Severus blew on his hot chocolate. "I had hoped to be free of them at last. I should have known some of them are so bloody single minded that they even need to doubt my death."

Neville snorted. "And with good reason."

Severus raised an eyebrow and sneered. "Well, THEY don't know that, do they?" He sighed.

"I loved Albus like a father. Hell, he WAS my father. But even he used me. To the extreme. He made me kill him. It was, in the end, my decision of course, but he knew perfectly well that I couldn't refuse him anything. I keep waiting for you to demand something from me."

Neville sighed and shook his head. "I don't want anything from you but your friendship, Severus. I asked you to come with me because I wanted to continue getting to know you. You can begin to discover yourself now, without the strain of spying, the war or the Horcrux in you."

Severus nodded. "Thank you. It WILL take time. But you are not my student now…you are my friend…" his eyes softened with surprise and delight as he uttered that word, "and if I act like a git, feel free to tell me off. Merlin knows I have been a jerk to you for years, you have a lot of catching up to do in that respect."

He paused for a second. "You think the Horcrux affected me?"

An indignant look appeared on his face as his friend collapsed in helpless laughter.

"Oh Merlin, Sev, yes, yes! You have become a lot less…evil. Let me demonstrate."

"NEVILLE!" Severus screamed a few minutes later. "My robes are RED and GOLD. And there is a litter of kittens on the floor!"

"You don't need to tell me that, Sev, I did conjure them up, after all."

"Remove them!"

"What, remove your robes? EWWWW, no thanks!"

"Not the robes, you…you…oh great."

"Exactly my point. Now, sit down on the floor and look at the kittens. Try to hate them."

"…"

"Well?"

"Can't hate them. Blast! I hate that I can't hate them!"

"See? You can't insult me with something you know will hurt me. You can't hate obviously cute kittens. Now, if I asked you to strangle one of the kittens for potions ingredients…"

"NO!"

"There ya go. You carried a seventh of Voldemorts soul in you for years. Yes, it definitely affected you. It made you hate. Shouldn't come as that much of a surprise, really. Now that it's gone, your own soul is free again."

"But I was a jerk before I became a Horcrux."

"You were a traumatized teenager when you became a Horcrux. You never matured properly."

"Oh, and now that I am mature and Horcrux free I suddenly like kittens. Is there any way to put the thing back in?"

"Shut up, Sev. I never said you were mature, did I? You are experiencing normal human reactions to cuteness. Young animals and babies are designed to trigger a protective streak. You will need to learn to control your feelings and emotions again. They need time to balance out."

"I don't KNOW how to be a normal human being!"

Neville sat down on the floor and banished the kittens.

"I don't think you ever will be normal, Sev. Normality is overrated anyway. You are quite a unique person with VERY unique experiences. You are the only human Horcrux who hasn't turned into a Greater Inferius. You helped safe the Wizarding World. You are an absolute superb potions master. And you are basically a decent human being. You're a great friend, Sev, and all the people who refuse to see that, well that's their loss, really."

Severus hid his face behind his hair but his red ears betrayed that he was blushing. After a while he sat back and studied Neville.

"I just can't believe how much you've grown up in these few short years. A very far cry from the first year who used to melt a cauldron each lesson."

"Well burning cauldrons became fun after fourth year when I could do it, knowing you ORDERED me to do it and couldn't punish me," Neville said with a smirk.

"I KNEW IT!"

Far away, in London…

"That article didn't help much. They're even gonna have a memorial service."

"Yes it did. Just be patient."

The two men conversed quietly in a corner of a muggle pub.

"Muggle scum…never thought the day would come when we'd be forced to live among them."

"Patience, MacNair. We will be great again, I'm sure of it. It will be a memorable Memorial Service indeed…"


	5. Chapter 5

A/N **Author looks at her main characters in exasperation.**

I don't own you, do I?

_They shake their heads, with eerily identical smirks._

Brats. If you want me to keep this story non slash you better cooperate and be nice to me. Just because I said I wouldn't write slash, doesn't mean I'm not CAPABLE of it…

_Severus and Neville pale significantly._

**It's the author's turn to smirk. **

Don't worry. Same goes as for the previous chapters. No slash, and Severus and Neville belong to JK Rowling. And in some ways, I'm very glad for that...

_Glares are shot between author and main characters._

"I can't believe that I'm back here so soon," Neville moaned.

Harry laughed.

"Sorry Nev. But we really need to sort this out. Where's Severus? We rather hoped he would be coming…"

"Too dangerous. He's in Holland. Said something about wanting to see the work of someone named Rembrandt and a few others. Not sure what line of work they were in. I'll be catching up with him there, and then we're leaving for the States."

"How are you two getting along?"

"Quite well. He's not at his most…stable, at the moment. I had hoped this time away would help him, but these stupid rumors aren't helping. I hope we can sort them out once and for all."

"Me too. Erm…there is one tiny little thing we kinda forgot to tell you…"

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

Harry squirmed. "Well…Remus…he eh…had a feeling we weren't telling him everything…so he 'borrowed' one of the students' Extendable Ears to eavesdrop."

Neville growled.

Harry bit his lip. "Don't hurt him, Neville, he's the only godfather I have left. Besides, McGonagall beat you to it. You should have seen the dressing-down she gave him when we caught him. I swear he nearly cried."

Neville smirked evilly. "Ok, I promise I won't kill him."

Harry wasn't much reassured.

Hogwarts was a busy place that week, with the students, staff and several Order members who were staying there while preparing for the memorial service. It would be held by the grave of Albus Dumbledore, which was considered appropriate, as he had been the leader of the Order for so long. Harry had been asked to speak, as well as McGonagall.

"I wanted to decline first," Harry confided in Neville as they walked up to the Headmistress' office to meet the others, "but they convinced me. Besides, if it isn't for me, who will praise Severus? Scrimgeour certainly won't."

He gave the Gargoyle the password and they entered.

Hermione launched herself at Neville, hugging him fiercely while Ron beamed and patted his shoulder.

"Umph...'Mione…it's only been a couple of weeks…"

The girl let go. "It's so good to see you again. It's such a shame it's too dangerous for Severus."

Neville smiled and shook hands with the Headmistress. "Hello, professor McGonagall."

She shook his hand and grimaced. "Honestly, you are not a student anymore. It's about time you called me Minerva in private."

Neville nodded and then turned his attention to the last member of the group. Remus Lupin kept his eyes to the floor and tried to blend in with the furniture.

Displaying that being around Severus constantly left its marks, Neville raised his upper lip in a feral sneer.

"Ah. Our resident eavesdropper."

The werewolf paled.

Neville advanced on him until the man was backed into a corner. Then he grinned.

"Good to see you back here, professor Lupin. I take it you have learned your lesson regarding the decency of eavesdropping?" He extended his hand.

His former professor took it, relieved.

"Yes, I have," he mumbled, casting a nervous glance at the Headmistress.

"Have they filled you in on the complete story after they were done shouting at you?"

Finally, Remus gave a small smile. "Yes, they did. Is he ok, Neville?"

"Yes, he's fine. Having fun with someone named Rembrandt."

He frowned when the werewolf burst out laughing. "What?"

Remus composed himself. "Rembrandt was a famous Dutch painter. He died centuries ago. I take it Severus is visiting some muggle museums."

Neville blushed. "I guess so, then. He did say he would stay in the muggle world just to be on the safe side."

The transfiguration professor nodded in agreement.

Two days later the Memorial Service took place. A large body of wizards and witches were seated opposite Dumbledore's grave. Minerva McGonagall stood in front, with the Trio, Neville and Lupin on the front row.

"Where is the Minister?" she said, worried, "We were supposed to start ten minutes ago."

Neville shrugged. "Just start without him, professor."

Another five minutes, and the Headmistress agreed with him.

"Good afternoon. Today we are gathered here to honor the memory of our fallen. I do not need to emphasize how difficult that is for all of us. The grave in front of us is a symbol of what we have lost. There are so many more graves. So many lives have been lost. Ours, but also on our enemies side. Voldemorts death eaters were once children, young people that for the most part attended this very school. They took a dark path, and they paid the price for that, yet we can still mourn the children they once were. The child Tom Riddle we may mourn, however thankful we are that Voldemort is no longer a threat to us.

But today is for our heroes. The ones that gave their lives to keep us safe. The list is long. Too long, but we may take comfort in what Albus always said: Death is but the next great adventure. Nothing can harm them now, and if Albus can be believed –and I like to think he can- they are having a wonderful time now while they await our arrival; many, many years from now one may hope. We have a world to rebuild…"

At that moment she was interrupted by the arrival of the Minister, with five Aurors, some Ministry workers and Rita Skeeter behind him.

"What is the meaning of this, Minister?" the Headmistress demanded to know.

"Well, Minerva, while you may conveniently have ignored the reports in the Daily Prophet, I have not. Rita Skeeter here has assured me her source is reliable, and I will need to varify facts…"

Minerva stared at him. "Varify facts…?"

Harry jumped up.

"No! Minister! Are you insane? You cannot defile their grave!"

It was then that the meaning of the Ministers words clicked in the guests minds, and chaos ensued. The general reaction ranged from outrage on the part of the Order members, to cooperating curiosity from those who still believed in the truthfulness of the Daily Prophet.

"I'm sorry, Mr Potter, but I cannot ignore this any longer. Stand aside, Headmistress. Butler, Yeats, open the grave."

Neville noticed his palms were starting to sweat. To his right, Harry and Remus shared a concerned glance. Hermione and Ron stared with open mouth, and the Headmistress had gone a strange ashen color.

The Ministry workers began to cast a strong levitation charm to remove the marble slab from the grave. Once set aside, they removed the layer of earth beneath it until they reached the second slate that covered the actual tomb.

After lifting that, the people surrounding the grave turned away. Scrimgeour looked like someone had hit him over the head with a troll's club.

Inside the grave were the decaying bodies of Albus Dumbledore…and Severus Snape.

"I hope you are happy now?" Harry said, his eyes blazing, "You defiled their grave and disturbed their rest. Not to mention that you made us see what no one should have to see, the rotten corpses of their loved ones. Go away, Minister, you have your answers. I will file a vote of no confidence against you tomorrow."

Scrimgeour, holding his breath against the smell and motioning his people to recover the tomb, was turning green from more then the odor. He knew perfectly well that if the Man who Conquered wanted him gone, he might as well start packing. He turned and left without another word.

Hermione sobbed. Minerva was in no state to continue, so Harry stood up and took over.

"I am very sorry for this. We didn't know this would happen…" he said, as the Aurors and Ministry workers joined forces to quickly replace the marble slab, "but we should not let it distract us from our purpose here. To honor our dead."

He waved his wand, and golden letters appeared, forming the list of the fallen, rising to the clouds.

"The most prominent among them, and most dear to me, of course, my parents, my godfather, Albus Dumbledore, and Severus Snape."

"All honorable and brave men, giving their best and suffering much to keep our world safe. But this memorial service would be in vain if we forgot what they fought for. To magic, there is no 'pure blood'. There are no 'better people' and 'inferior people'. There are simply 'people'. Lives that have to be respected."

"I was destined by a prophecy to fight Voldemort. I survived. Many others did not. How much of this could have been prevented, how different could my life have been if we had paid more attention? If we had paid more attention to the young Tom Riddle? Remember that it were OUR prejudices, not THEIRS, that started these wars. Our prejudice against Slytherin House caused many of its members to turn to someone who could make them feel welcome, and worthy. My own prejudice against Slytherin House kept me from getting to know many of its worthy members. It kept me from getting to know honorable men like Severus Snape, and Draco Malfoy, who were able to overcome the power of the Dark and come back to the Light. Now they rest in their graves, and we have ruined our chances of appreciating these men for what they were. I do not say they made no mistakes. I myself have made many. Mistakes that cost other people their lives. Some of them we honor here…" he said, motioning to the name of Cedric Diggory.

"I hope we have learned from our mistakes. I hope this world will truly be a better place. I would like to extend my hand to Slytherin House and apologize. To honor our dead, by offering peace. Thank you all, for joining us."

Neville got up and hugged Harry before taking the stand.

"I am Neville Longbottom. Many of you know me as the man who killed Severus Snape. I am here today to honor his memory. This may sound strange to many of you. Honoring Severus Snape may sound strange to many of you. But the fact that he is resting in this grave should explain something."

"Severus Snape was a spy for the Order for decades. He gathered much of the information that saved countless lives, at great cost. Finally, he maneuvered himself in such a position that he would die because of an Unbreakable Vow he made. He had to kill Albus Dumbledore or die. He chose to die. But Albus Dumbledore would not let his son throw away his life, and ordered him to kill him when the time came."

"It was nearly a year after he killed Dumbledore that I found him. I have relayed the story of his last days to Scrimgeour, our soon to be ex Minister of Magic. Suffices to say that we found out what had happened. To kill Voldemort he had to die himself. There was no other way. So he asked me to do the same thing he himself had to do a year earlier. He asked me to cast the spell, and kill him, so Harry could kill Voldemort. He could have fled, or refused, but he did not. So today, I honor him."

No one ever noticed that a shadow moved on the edge of the Forest where light should have been. No one noticed the few drops of moisture that fell to the ground seemingly out of nowhere. And with Neville's voice magnified, no one heard the slight 'crack' when the figure wrapped in an invisibility cloak disapparated.

Miles away, back in his hotel room in Holland, Severus Snape pulled off Neville's cloak and collapsed on the couch.

A/N: I know, I know, a lot of talking being done. Next chapter coming soon, I promise.


	6. Chapter 6

The service went on for another hour, various people giving brief testimonies of the life and accomplishments of their loved ones, assured in the knowledge that they would live on in their hearts and memories forever.

At the end of that afternoon, the headmistress motioned for the Trio, Neville and Remus to follow her. They entered the office and sank down on the nearest available couches and comfy chairs.

Harry's eyes flashed with anger. "First thing tomorrow I get rid of that Minister. I can't believe the nerve of that man!"

Ron nodded. "But…how come Severus' body was in there?" he asked, frowning.

Minerva smiled. "We owe that to Severus, really. He suggested that we transfigured something to look like his corpse, and put it in the grave. Just in case, he said. I do wonder though, why it looked so…real…decaying I mean. When we buried it, it wasn't like that."

Neville looked intrigued. "I'll ask him about it. Could it be some time delayed spell?"

Remus and Minerva hesitated. "It could very well be, but such a spell usually requires a command word to activate. If Severus has keyed it to his own name, for example, the spell would 'update' the corpse every time his name is spoken near the grave."

None of them had much of an appetite, and they departed to their own rooms after a mug of hot chocolate together. Neville decided to rejoin Severus the following afternoon, after Harry had returned from his Ministry quest, grinning like mad.

"The Aurors had already packed his stuff," he said, "and removed him from the building the minute I filed the no confidence thingy. Seems many in the Ministry weren't too happy with his defiling graves either."

He gave Neville a quick, one-armed hug. "Back in time to see you off, I guess. How are you travelling?"

"We still have the pendants Albus gave us, that will allow us to port to each other and talk to each other," Neville said, "I can just port to Severus. Keep your fingers crossed he's not in the bathroom or anything when I get there cuz I'll land right next to him…"

_Earlier that day_

"Well. Are you assured now? The traitor is indeed rotting in his grave."

"I am NOT convinced! It MUST be a trick!"

A deep sigh from nearly everyone else in the room didn't do much to improve the ranting man's temper.

"I WILL prove to you that it's all a lie!"

"It already cost you your job, Minister…or should I say EX Minister? Your scheme to use Rita Skeeter to get the people behind you so you could excavate the grave without trouble didn't work. And why the hell did you do it during the Memorial Service? So much for sympathy votes. Sorry, mate, but you have just gone off the deep end. I'm going to retire and hope in time people will forget this unfortunate Death Eater business. I'm sure you can afford extensive treatment in St Mungo's with the money you stole…sorry, confiscated, from Lucius' estate."

"Fine, go. Cowards! I will get my revenge on the Potter brat and the traitor, and maybe that annoying kid that broke my nose too. And when the Dark Lord returns, he will reward me beyond measure!"

"He's not coming back, and you didn't even JOIN until Dumbledore was dead. I'm not wasting any more time on your idiotic schemes. Go get help, or die trying to kill the Man who Conquered. Either way, just get out of my house."

_Amsterdam_

The room was quiet. It's only occupant was sitting by the window, staring at the activity on the street below and brooding.

He shivered as he felt something was out of place. When he saw the tiny speck of light near him he moved quickly, agile and swift like a cat, to a point in the room where he was hidden from view, wand at the ready.

Seconds later, Neville appeared, scowling at the uncomfortable feeling of using a portkey, and immediately had a wand pointed at his chest.

"Merlin, Sev, you scare the hell out of me like this! Lower that thing, will ya?"

"Prove to me that you are really Neville."

Neville rolled his eyes. "If I weren't Neville, I'd be in total shock now as a result of seeing you alive. But if you must…I'm Neville, we befriended each other after my fourth year when you helped me train, and I hauled you from my backyard in early summer. And I overcame Bellatrix Lestrange by throwing a packet of tampons at her in a gas station. Enough for you?"

The wand was lowered.

"Sorry."

Neville dropped the backpack he had taken with him on the couch and conjured a tea tray.

"Never mind, better safe then sorry. Did you have fun with Rembrandt?"

The flash of guilt that passed on Severus face didn't escape him.

"What?"

The Potions Master quickly recovered. "I thought you would stay at Hogwarts a few more days?"

"Yeah, well, there was an incident at the Memorial Service and I wanted to get back early. Minerva and the Trio say hello, by the way. So does Remus; he found out from eavesdropping on them."

"Yes, I thought so when I saw him sitting next to you." Severus raised his chin defiantly and waited for the explosion that would follow that statement. He was sorely disappointed.

"I didn't think you could stay away. I'm glad I left the cloak here, I would have worried a lot more if you had gone with just spells."

The sneer that had begun to form, ready to respond harshly to the scolding he was sure he would receive, died on the Potions Masters lips.

"You knew I would come?"

"Of course. It would have been safer if you hadn't, but sometimes what is safest is not what is needed."

Now the sneer returned. "You have become quite profound, I see, Mr Longbottom. Any other nice little philosophies you wish to share?"

Neville looked at him. "Nope. I'm gonna unpack and go to the Amsterdam branch of Gringotts to exchange some money. People might be looking for me now that Harry has removed the Minister, so we better leave here tomorrow."

"I doubt that they will come looking for you if they have the Bloody Boy Who Lived to turn to," Severus sneered, in full Potions Master form.

Neville sighed. "Does it make you feel better, acting like an ass?"

For a few seconds he wondered if a hex would come flying his way soon. Then Severus seemed to deflate and collapsed on the nearest chair.

"No, it doesn't, really."

Neville sat down.

"The Memorial Service, eh?"

Severus nodded weakly. "I heard all the things you and Harry said about me. I know you and Harry know me and respect me, but it was so weird to see so many other people there too, who didn't jump up and leave when you mentioned me. And then the Minister…"

Neville growled. "That stupid prat."

For the first time that day, Severus chuckled slightly. "Yes, quite. I got so angry, that he dared defile Albus' grave! I'm glad I wasn't near enough to…to see…"

Neville shuddered. "You should be. It wasn't nice." He suddenly remembered. "We were wondering how it was possible that the fake body in your grave looked so…so real. McGonagall thought some sort of time delayed spell."

Severus nodded. "An adaptation. It will need to be recast every year for the next decade, after that the only thing that will remain are some bits of black robes. Until my real death. I hope it is possible to be really buried next to Albus when I die."

Neville shrugged. "You could very well live for another century. Lets worry about it then. What is the command word keyed to the spell? McGonagall suggested your name."

Severus shook his head. "Not mine. Albus's. I thought it much more likely for people to say his name then mine over the grave so I keyed it to his."

His voice seemed to be stuck in his throat and for a few moments, neither spoke. Then Severus sighed.

"I don't think I'm over it yet, Neville," he admitted.

The Gryffindor put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know, Sev. There's no way you could be. I think that when we get overseas, we should pay a visit to a healer we can trust, so you can talk to a professional. You need more help then the friendship I can give you."

Severus smiled slightly. "Don't underestimate yourself, Mr Longbottom. Your friendship means a lot to me. I'm sure I can work it all out in time."

Neville said nothing, but his eyes had a determined look.

"No way you are gonna wriggle your way out of this, my friend," he thought, "I'll find you help even if I have to drag you to a shrink and tie you to his sofa."

"You look like Albus did when I refused to do something he wanted me to do," Severus remarked, smiling sadly, "there's something distinctly Slytherin about that look."

Neville grinned. "You've never refused him anything, have you?"

Severus snorted. "Never. I've tried a couple of times, but I couldn't. And for some insane reason, if I'd fail, like with Harry's Occlumency lessons, he made me feel guilty, as if I hadn't warned him beforehand it wouldn't work."

His eyes became distant. "But I loved him. I tried as best I could. And he loved me, that made it easy to bear."

Neville smiled in sympathy. "You did rage after Black escaped, Harry told me."

Severus shuddered. "Oh, Merlin, yes I did. I stormed out of the hospital wing and to my room. He came to find me there a while later and I threw countless potions bottles at him. Wouldn't calm down or listen to reason."

He blushed at the memory. "I was just out of control. I didn't calm down until I felt him grab me and pin my arms to my sides. When he felt me relax he just turned me around and held me. I think I've never felt safer in my life, then when he took me in his arms and told me how proud he was that I had tried to protect the children, how sorry he was he had to act the way he did, and explained to me that Black was innocent. In the end I believed him. He made me promise not to go overboard in class. I still had to act like I was furious at Harry, you see. I was upset about the order of merlin, but I guess its for the best I didn't get it. It would have been much more difficult to return as a spy if I had. He stayed with me for hours that night, telling me how proud he was of me, how happy he was to have me for his son…much like that day in his office when he made me promise to kill him."

Neville nodded. "He said in Harry's letter it took him a full day to calm you down and convince you to do it."

Severus shivered. "He never _convinced_ me to do it. He just made me promise. I was never convinced that it was the right thing to do. Anyway, he had tied me to a chair that day and after two hours of screaming I lost my voice. That frustrated me enough to break through the bonds and start wracking his office. Before I could get very far, he dragged me to the ground and literally sat on me. After that, I…I just crawled into his arms and cried and begged him not to make me do it, to let me go and live on, for Harry. We cried together for over an hour before we ever spoke another word. I told him it was no use, I had to die because of the Horcrux. The day we found out about that kinda stands out in my memory too, by the way. But he was so convinced that we would find a way to remove it without killing me, so convinced I could lead a happy life after the war. When I sneered at him and told him I couldn't be happy without him, that I would be executed as his murderer anyway, he just held me close and assured me he wouldn't let that happen, that he would make sure that sometime after his death Harry and Minerva would get a letter from him explaining the situation."

He sighed and glared. "You just managed to get me to talk, didn't you?"

Neville couldn't hold back a smirk.

_Elsewhere_

"Only eleven?"

"Yes, sir. The others weren't interested."

"That's twelve in total! The Dark Lord won't be pleased that only a dozen of his followers have continued his battle when he returns."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, it'll just have to do. Now. Priority list. Kill Severus Snape and Harry Potter. And that annoying Longbottom brat. The nerve! My nose will never be the same again."

"It looks the same to me, sir."

"It's a figure of speech, you imbecile."

"Yes, sir. Oh, erm…sir?"

"Yes?"

"Well, the others and I…we kind of wondered…if we couldn't put the ones that we are SURE are alive on top of the priority list…and hunt for Snape in our spare time or something…"

"He IS alive!"

"But we both saw his decaying body, sir! Forgive me for being blunt, but someone who looks like that can't possibly be alive!"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Seconds later…

"Well, it seems we will have to make do with only eleven of us. They are still looking for a Herbology teacher at Hogwarts. Lance, you will go there and apply for the job. You're well qualified. Gain Potter's trust and lure him into a trap. You may take some time for that."

Benjamin Lance nodded. "Very well, sir."

"The rest of you, while Lance is doing that, are to go search for Snape."

Lance apparated out while the remaining ten former Death Eaters grumbled as soon as their boss had left.

"Hunt for a dead traitor…humph. Well…we'll be taking it easy then. I swear, the man has a Snape obsession. If it wasn't for the fact that he has the right idea about taking out Potter, I'd have him send straight to St Mungo's psychiatric ward."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N

**Author walks in, patting main characters on their heads lovingly.**

_They glare at her._

**Yes, yes, I know, I'm evil and mean and all that. **

_They nod and point out they just wanted a nice and quiet time travelling_

**Author throws hands in the air in despair: That wouldn't make for very exciting fanfiction!**

_Two clear We-Really-Couldn't-Care-Less-glares are thrown at her_

**Aww come on, cooperate, boys! Hey, I did give you time to bond and all!**

_Sev and Nev have to reluctantly agree, and decide to cooperate for another chapter_

**And what do we say waaay to often during every story…?**

_(They intone together like schoolchildren) "This is not slash and we belong to JK Rowling"_

**Exactly!**

Severus stretched out lazily in the hammock on the porch of the house he and Neville had rented. Neville spent a lot of time in the city a few miles away, with an old retired healer who had offered to tutor him for three months. The old man had provided Neville with countless books on healing that would take him months to study properly. Severus had been quite pleased when the man produced some old, and rare, potions books and handed them to him when he told him he was a potions master. Of course he had to pretend to only have gained the title a few years back, instead of already having been a full Master for nearly two decades. He had read it with some interest. It did contain very fascinating recipes and theories, and an idea was forming in the back of his mind…

Neville came home midafternoon, to find a sleeping Severus in the hammock and an owl perched, looking at the snoozing man somewhat irritated. Neville grinned and relieved her from her letter. The owl hooted softly and flew off into the nearby forest to rest and eat before going back.

Severus woke half an hour later to see Neville sitting on one of the porch chairs, drinking coffee (a disgusting habit in these parts, Severus had decided) and several parchments in front of him.

He yawned. "Anything of interest? I don't recall any owls…"

Neville grinned "No, you were asleep. Annoyed the owl by refusing to wake up." He held up a letter. "From our friends back home. They're fine; though they now understand how annoying we must have been in school."

Severus smirked.

"Remus is happy that they've found a new Herbology professor. The double workload was starting to get to him. His name is Lance and it seems he gets along famously with the rest of the staff. And I've asked Minerva if she knew of any trustworthy people here to help you, and she has recommended someone."

Severus jumped like a large insect had stung him.

"You WHAT!"

Neville looked up, unimpressed by the death glare that was directed at him.

"I'll be checking him out first, of course, but you ARE going."

Severus slumped back in the hammock, brooding angrily.

_Elsewhere…_

"Lance?"

"Yes. I got the job and I'm already befriending the staff. They'll begin to trust me soon."

"Excellent! And how about the rest of you? Any sign of Snape yet?"

"Well, we followed his trail…"

"Yes, and?"

"And it let us to a grave on the Hogwarts grounds."

"CRUCIO!"

"EXPELLIARMUS! Don't be a fool, Rufus. You are not Voldemort, we are not going to let you torture us. If you wish to kill your foolish little assistants like you did last time, go right ahead, but we don't plan on letting ourselves getting tortured."

"Stop seething, Rufus, it doesn't become you. The man is right. Find some muggle to torture but leave us alone. Now. Your Snape obsession."

"It is NOT an obsession! I tell you, he is alive."

"The Longbottom kid told you the whole story of his death."

"That's just it. That Longbottom kid is not someone who is capable of killing. And his whole mushy story! Overly dramatic."

"Hmmm…you know, I have to admit, you do have a point there. But there IS the tiny little detail of him actually being IN HIS GRAVE!"

"What, are you a wizard or not? You don't think they could have transfigured it?"

"What's the point? Why would they have done that? It wasn't very likely anyone would ever open that grave, was it? I mean…Albus Dumbledore's grave. That would be sacrilege to them."

"To them, yes. But Snape is a Slytherin. A cunning one, even for that house. HE would have come up with such an idea."

"I still say you are delusional. This just might rank among the 'Ten Most Stupid Conspiracy Theories Ever Heard'. David Letterman might do a list on it."

"David who?"

"David…oh nevermind. A muggle thing."

(all ten) "A MUGGLE thing?" (Death glares are being shot)

_A month later_

"Hey Sev. How did it go?"

"I don't trust him. I don't want to be there. I hate you."

"Ah, it went well then."

Severus huffed. "Yes, it did go quite well, in fact. The guy is still giving me bad vibes, though. Are you sure he is trustworthy?"

Neville looked thoughtful. "McGonagall recommended him as an old friend of her, I checked him out, you did background checks, neither of us found anything suspicious."

Severus sighed. "True, but still. It bothers me that I can't use legimency on him. There is just something in that office that bothers me."

"The office? Not the man himself?"

Severus thought for a while. "No, not really the man himself. It's just the feeling that something is…not right."

Neville bit his lip. "We can't risk anything. I'll come with you next time in my invisibility cloak and see what I can find. No, I won't be eavesdropping on your session with him."

Severus shrugged. "I know. I'd feel more reassured if you would do that, Neville. It's probably just my leftover spy paranoia kicking in, but I need to be sure. Meanwhile, I have something I want to talk to you about…"

Neville, who had been busy making tea, set the two mugs on the table and dropped into his favorite chair.

"Go ahead, talk."

"It's about that potions book your mentor gave me."

"Yes?"

"Well…I don't want you to get too hopeful, and I wouldn't have said anything yet if I hadn't needed your help…"

"Sev, enough with the suspense already. Out with it."

"There is a potion in that book, specifically designed to heal neurological damage. It's actually a potion made from several other, specially treated potions. It's very complicated and I need your help with it."

"Neurological damage?" Neville said, sitting very still as the implications of his friend's words hit him. "You mean…my parents…?"

"I'm not promising anything," Severus hastened to say, "It's too early to predict anything. But it is an old and forgotten potion, and from what I can tell, it might be something useful. Just…just don't get your hopes up."

Neville let out a hollow laugh. "How could I NOT get my hopes up, Severus? I know what you're trying to say and I will prepare myself for disappointment…but I have to hope. I've had to hope for so long already…"

Severus looked at the young man, curled up in his favorite chair, a pained expression on his face. He got up and put a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"I understand. I need you to contact your parents' healers, as I can't do that. I will need bloodsamples from them. I will do my best, Neville, I promise."

_At Hogwarts_

"Hey, Harry."

Harry turned around and saw the new herbology professor approach.

"Hi, Ben. How's classes going?"

The man beamed. "Very well, thank you. I enjoy teaching. But I was wondering…At my old job, we used to integrate the subjects more then we do here. I mean…cooperation and joined classes would be good, right? I mean…herbology and potions and Defense would benefit from working together."

Harry raised his eyebrows and looked thoughtful. "I suppose. Certainly your classes and Potions would go well together. And that would be easy to integrate into my classes. Perhaps a joint project? Interhouse? Why don't you bring it up at the next staff meeting."

Benjamin Lance gave a charming smile. "I'll be sure to do that. Thank you, Harry."

He walked away with a distinct smirk on his face.


	8. Chapter 8

Two men walked into his office, Dr. Hector saw from his window. One carrying a cloak of some odd material. He looked at the camera as they entered the hall. One was his patient. The other a younger man, who threw the cloak over himself and disappeared. Ah. An invisibility cloak. Interesting.

His receptionist greeted his patient as usual and directed him to his office. He wondered if the hidden young man would be coming in too, but the quick opening and closing of the door convinced him there could not have been enough time for him to slip in.

"Ah, Seferat. Do sit down. How have you been since our last conversation?"

Meanwhile, Neville looked around the waiting room. It was pleasant, light, and with a large aquarium. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then he turned around.

Severus was calmly talking to the doctor when they heard crashing, cursing and screams from the waiting room area. Neville burst in, dragging the kicking receptionist with him. His cloak, unfortunately, still covered everything but his head, making the whole scene all the more strange to behold.

"She…she is what you sensed," he panted, throwing the girl down on the floor and sealing the door with a quick wave of his wand.

The doctor stared, dumbstruck, but Severus moved quickly. He dragged the girl up from the floor and bound her to a chair.

"I already thought you look vaguely familiar."

The girl spit in his face. "You filthy traitor."

Neville took off the cloak. "Sorry about barging in, sir," he said to the now recovering Hector.

Severus wiped the saliva off his face. "I really don't like that," he said conversationally, before sitting down at a safe distance.

Neville sighed. "I caught her listening in on you, and writing notes in this book," he held it up, "it's addressed to MacNair. Thank Merlin she didn't get to send it."

The girl glared at him.

The doctor sat down behind his desk. "Would you care to explain what is going on, young man?"

Neville threw the booklet on the desk. "Your receptionist was about to give information about our whereabouts to the remaining Death Eaters in hiding. She's been listening in on your conversations. Sev told me a few days ago that he always sensed something was wrong when he came here, so I offered to come with him today, in my cloak, and check it out."

"I remember you," Severus said suddenly, looking intensely at the girl, "You were in Hufflepuff. I had just started teaching when you came to Hogwarts. You are related to MacNair."

The girl kept silent.

"What are we going to do now?" Neville asked, "we can't just let her go. We can't send her to the Ministry either, she'd tell them all about you."

Severus frowned. "True. We'd need a very strong memory charm for that to be an option. Any ideas, Doctor? She is your receptionist after all."

Hector leaned back in his chair. "As it happens, I am an expert in memory charms. My charms have never yet been broken. I could put one on her so she'd forget ever seeing you. Then I could hand her over to your Ministry, saying she has been caught communicating with a Death Eater still on the run. I'd leave her information about everything else intact, so she can tell them where to find this MacNair. But I am surprised that you could sense something was going on. I had no idea she'd ever do something like this."

Severus shrugged. "I've had my whole life to hone skills like that."

Neville came home a week later, tired from a day's work, to find Severus immersed in a large number of leaflets.

"Hey Sev. Any news?"

"Doctor Hector has sent the girl to England after modifying her memory. He hired a new receptionist and allowed me to use Legimency to make sure this one is trustworthy. She is. Right now, though, Brett Eastman, our neighbor down the road, has asked me to come with them on a riding trip."

"Riding?"

"He and some of his friends will be going on a trip for a week, on horseback. I learned to ride when I was young and he has kindly let me practice on his horses. He invited me along on this trip, and I liked the idea. Is that ok?"

Neville raised his eyebrows. "Honestly, Sev, what do you need my permission for? If you want to do this, by all means, go! Enjoy yourself. It sounds like a lot of fun."

Severus bit his lip. "It's one of those issues Hector and I have been discussing lately. It's been so long since I could make my own decisions, I'm not used to that anymore."

Neville sat down. "I know. I need to apologize to you, Sev, for forcing you to see a doctor. I shouldn't have done that."

The potions master waved it aside. "It's ok, you just wanted to help me. While I did not like it, you were right about me needing it. And you didn't want anything from me except to be well."

"I'll try not to do it again. Hey, if you're going with Brett and his friends, then what are all these for?"

Severus grinned. "Brett is afraid I can't do wilderness survival. He told me to read these and get a proper kit. He's gonna help me pack and all. It'll be interesting to do this all the muggle way."

"I wish I could see that," Neville grinned.

"No doubt. I'll take my wand of course, but I'll try not to cheat…much."

"It's a good idea," Hermione said.

Lupin nodded. "Certainly. And a project week sounds like fun. Interhouse sounds good too, make sure the students mingle a bit more. Especially for Slytherin House. The other Houses would loose more of their prejudices against them if they worked together more."

The Headmistress nodded. "I agree, and as everyone is in favor, I'd say we do it. Ben, it's your idea, why don't you organize it?"

The Herbology teacher nodded. "I'd love to, but it's a lot of work to do on my own."

"Well, you don't need me," Ron said.

"Not enough time," both Hermione and Lupin said.

Harry snorted. "Oh come on, guys. It'll be fun. I'll help, Ben. Let's get together sometime later this week and set it up, ok?"

Professor Lance smiled and nodded. "That would be excellent, Harry."

"What's that?"

"A shot."

"Humph?"

"Muggle medicin. You see the needle? You stick it into someone's rear end and push in the liquid."

"That's….barbaric! Sounds perfect. So, are you going to use it on him?"

"If he behaves like a lunatic again, yes, most certainly."

"What exactly does it do?"

"It puts him to sleep immediately. For about a week."

"Oh that is wonderful."

"What is wonderful?"

"Oh, hi Rufus. Benjamin was just telling us about the progress he made on his plan."

"Excellent! What is the plan?"

"We're setting up a project week at Hogwarts. Harry and I are organizing it together. Plenty of opportunities."

"Very good indeed! And how is the progress on Snape?"

"Well, he's still…you know…dead. No signs of resurrection whatsoever."

SEETHING RAGE

"Erm, Ben? Now would be a good time to use that shot. MacNair is turning rather blue."

"AARGHHH!" (THUD)

"That's better. Did you have to provoke him like that, MacNair?"

"I wasn't in the mood for his crap. My niece was thrown into Azkaban for trying to write to me. They are trying to get her to tell me where to find us."

"Is she a danger to us?"

"Not anymore. Unfortunately the sweets I brought her when I went to visit were…past their expiring dates."

"Shame, really."

"Yeah. Oh well, I got two dozen nieces and honestly, I didn't know her that well."

"But still, family, eh? Always harder."

"True. Though the servings of turkey at Christmas get bigger every year."

"That's right, focus on the positive."

A/N excessivelyperky, I liked your idea of the drugs so much I couldn't resist using it. Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Author wanders in, surprised to see two upset main characters. What's wrong, boys?**

_Sev and Nev, choking on sobs: You've started another story! You left us! You're cheating on us!_

**Oh dear… Honestly, I didn't leave you! And Sev, come on, you're even IN the other story!**

_Neville glares. "Why aren't I in it?" _

_Severus smirks. _

**Well. Before we bore our readers to death with the bickering, why don't we get on with this chapter?**

**Rageful Jewel: You are absolutely correct. Stupid oversight on my part. I can't have Moody die and then be head of the auror department, can I? I've fixed it.**

**Anyway, sorry it took so long to update, but its been a crazy week workwise, but no more deadline now! I can return to my newest true love: writing fanfiction.**

Harry walked into the Three Broomsticks happily, looking forward to a quiet dinner with the Hide Out Party, as the group who knew of Severus Snape's continued existence had called themselves. Rosmerta had been kind enough to provide them with a soundproof dining room, which made them suspicious; she had a knack for knowing things she shouldn't. But she had also proven herself capable of keeping her mouth shut, so they just added their own extra charms to the room and ate quietly. It was good to be able to talk about their friends freely.

"I got a letter from Neville this morning," Harry said when the soup had been served.

"He writes that they are well, that he is working hard and learning loads. They'll be staying in that area for a while. Severus has been making friends with their neighbor and is now on a short holiday with him and his friends on horse, no magic," he snorted.

The others laughed. "I bet he cheats," Ron said.

"Do you?" McGonagall said, "I'll take you up on that. Five galleons he will last the week without magic."

"Done!" Ron said. The others joined in the betting, ending up with the two women having faith in Severus' skills to impersonate a muggle, and the men absolutely sure he would cheat.

Despite his father being a muggle, the fact that he had also been a firstclass jerk had prevented Severus from learning muggle skills. He had picked up some in his spying days, and prior to the journey with Neville, Hermione and Harry had trained him in some basics that were just fun and had nothing to do with a) spying b) torturing or c) killing. Although after three days on horseback, he wasn't so sure about the torturing anymore. His riding skills weren't bad, but he had never been on a horse THIS long before. It was beginning to feel like a very local cruciatus had been applied to his…. certain areas of his body. Years of enduring Voldemort's torture, however, had trained him not to let it show.

Brett and his friends though, knew perfectly well what the newest member of their group must feel like, considering they'd all felt the same the first few times they were on horseback this long. They had planned the route carefully.

The forest area they were currently riding through was beautiful. They were following a small stream. Suddenly the trees gave way to an open spot and Severus saw a gorgeous waterfall, twenty feet high. Large rocks surrounded the water. Brett called a halt.

"This is one of our favorite spots, Sef, so we thought we'd spend tomorrow here if you don't mind."

Severus looked around. "This is a pleasant place," he commented.

One of Brett's friends snorted. "You really are one for understatements, aren't you? Are you sore?"

Severus stood up straight. "I'm fine."

Brett walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, happy when his new friend didn't jerk away like he had done so many times before.

"We were all pretty sore on our first long trips, Sef. No shame in admitting that. Come on, we'll tend to the horses and then have a nice swim."

Elsewhere

"If one of you ever has the nerve to stick a needle into me again, I'm gonna…gonna…"

"Gonna do what? Look, we've put up with being tortured for every little mistake for far too long. We're not going back to that. We're only here, together, because we have some common interests, like killing the Potter brat. How's that coming along, Ben?"

"Oh, perfectly fine. Harry is beginning to consider me a friend now that we are planning that project together. It will take place next week."

"Excellent! We'll finally be rid of him. Imagine the shock of the wizarding world when their savior is killed before the first anniversary of his victory!"

"But Snape…"

GROANS

"Snape is DEAD. Get over it. It's not like we will miss the traitor…well, perhaps his hangover potions. If you can ever prove that he is alive, I promise I will bodypaint a dark mark and dance naked in the Ministry."

_Hey Neville,_

_It was nice to hear from you. Glad you and your cousin are doing so well. At the rate you're going you'll be a full healer by the time you get back. Hermione says that some of the stuff you described in your last letter are very advanced. She's very jealous that you found such a great teacher and insists you teach her everything you've learned when you get back. _

_We have some bets going on here. Minerva and Hermione think that your cousin can make it through the week on holiday with muggles without cheating and using magic. Remus, Ron and I have bet 5 galleons each that he WILL cheat. You'll let us know, won't you?_

_Things are going well here. Next week ( by the time this letter reaches you we've possibly already started) is the project week. You'd have loved it had we done something like this when we were still in school! Herbology and Potions have joined forces, and muggle studies has chipped in by doing a lecture on muggle chemistry. Apart from the practical classes in the morning, there will also be joined lectures and demonstrations by the professors. Remus, Minerva and I will do a demonstration on the use of Transfiguration when duelling! I'm going to duel Minerva! As you can tell, I'm in for some major humiliation. _

_Ben and I are going to do a class and a lecture on the more dangerous plants one might encounter and how to defeat them. Ok, Ben insisted on 'avoid them' but what's the fun in that? But hey, if anyone knows his plants, it's Benjamin Lance. Had Snape been alive to teach potions, he would have enjoyed working with this man, I'm sure._

_You'll be glad to hear that Scrimgeour has been removed as Minister (that you already knew, of course) and that the new Minister for Magic is none other then (dundundun) Arthur!_

_Now that all his family members are well and home from the hospital, over 85 percent of voters agreed that he was the best for the job. Of course, he WAS running against Fudge (who wanted his old job back), so no competition. _

_Anyway, hope to hear from you soon (best would be if we could meet up sometime, but I guess we'll just have to be patient),_

_Oh, and the others send their love too. Ron just hit me upside the head, claiming Hermione sends you her love but he wishes you the best. Bit of a dubious statement if you ask me. OUCH! Just got smacked again. Gotta go and hit him back._

_**Harry**_

Neville grinned. Didn't sound like his friends had changed much, even if they were professors now. He thought wistfully of Hogwarts. He knew that part of the reason the Trio had decided to stay was to rebuild the castle, but Harry in any case also needed the time to adjust to a world in which he was not constantly haunted by an evil maniac. Defeating Voldemort had taken more out of him then he had initially thought, and Hogwarts was the perfect resting place and his only home. And apparently he had found a new friend in the Herbology professor.

He smirked at the reference to Severus' death in the letter. They had agreed that they had to be careful when writing, so they always referred to Severus as Neville's cousin, and talked about Snape frequently so that should the letter ever be intercepted, no one would doubt that they knew him to be dead. For some morbid reason, Severus quite enjoyed reading those references.

At the waterfall.

Severus was incredibly happy for the day's rest. They had set up camp, slept late the next morning, and enjoyed swimming in the surprisingly clear water. Brett had taught him how to fish the muggle way, and together they caught enough to roast over the fire later.

"Relaxing place, isn't it?" Brett said, splashing his feet in the water.

They sat happily on the rocks, eating lunch. The other men had gone to take the horses for a short ride, as the inactivity made the animals restless.

"Very," Severus agreed, laying back lazily, feeling completely relaxed and at peace for the first time in longer then he could remember.

Brett observed him silently. "You know, I've never seen you this relaxed. You always give the impression of being extremely tense and on guard. Like now," he added, seeing the other man stiffen and black eyes watching him warily. Severus relaxed when he realized the other man meant no harm.

"My life has been very hectic for a very long time," he admitted, "My cousin and I left England last fall to travel and just get away from things. Well, he has to study of course, but I came mainly to learn how to relax. Neville saw I was in need of a sabbatical and invited me along."

Brett nodded. "I don't see Neville that often, but he's a kind young man. And when he has grown up a little more, he'll have to fight off the girls. My thirteen year old is already eyeing him with that special teenage adoration look she has."

Severus grinned. "I don't think Neville has realized that. He has always been overshadowed by his classmates. And I didn't make life easier on him either," he added ruefully.

"You were his teacher then?" Brett asked, surprised.

Severus realized his mistake, but he hadn't lost his skill in making up lies. Or half-truths.

"Yes, I was. I was particularly hard on him because I didn't want anyone to think I'm a nepotism. In hindsight, I ended up being quite unfair to him. He has forgiven me for it, though, once he was out of school and we got to know each other better outside the teacher-student setting."

Brett was about to make a comment on that, when they suddenly heard an eery cracking above their heads.

A huge branch from the tree they were sitting under came crashing down. Severus looked up, saw the danger and before he even realized it, had pulled Brett down to protect him with his body. His magic flared and formed a shield. The branch bounced off it and landed 15 feet away.

The magic retreated into his body and he panted, relieved. Until he saw Brett's eyes locking on to his own.

"You're a wizard," the shaken man blankly stated.


	10. Chapter 10

Severus got his wand out and turned to his friend. "Brett, I'm really sorry for this…" he began, but Brett interrupted.

"No, Sef, wait! Don't obliviate me!"

In surprise, Severus lowered his wand. "You know what spell…"

Brett held up his hands. "Sef, please, sit down and put your wand away. You don't need to alter my memory, really." He sighed. "I'm a Squib, Sef. I come from a magical family. I know all about it, I just can't do any magic myself. So I chose to live in the muggle world."

Severus listened to him warily, wand still at the ready.

"A Squib? Then how come you never noticed we are wizards?"

Brett raised an eyebrow. "Neville too?"

Severus nodded.

"That explains a lot," Brett muttered, sitting down, "I really should have seen sooner, but you two do a very good job of blending in with the muggle world. Especially for English wizards."

Severus sat down. "You know English wizards?"

"I was born and raised in England," Brett explained, "I moved here over twenty years ago when I became of legal age. My family didn't want a Squib to blemish their good name."

"I don't know any English wizarding families by the name Eastman."

"Of course you don't, I changed my name when I moved here. I heard of Voldemorts death."

Severus nodded. "Yes, Harry Potter defeated him."

Brett sighed in relief. "Good. I was afraid when I left that he would destroy the whole of the island with those Death Eaters of his. What is your name, anyway? I doubt you use your own name either."

Severus stared ahead. "I don't want to tell you, Brett, because then I would really have to obliviate you."

Brett smiled. "That's ok. We all have our secrets. I've long gotten over being a Squib, although I did regret not going to Hogwarts. I met the Headmaster a couple of times, when my brother went there. He was kind to me. I heard he didn't survive the war."

He noticed his companion had suddenly gone very quiet. A quick glance learned him that the man was also deadly pale.

"I'm sorry, Sef, I should have realized that you just came from that place and you probably have some very bad memories."

"Very," Severus confirmed.

"My name was Nott," Brett suddenly said, "Ferdinand Nott. I so hated that name. Last I heard from my family was that my brother had married and produced an heir, Theodore I think."

Severus looked up in surprise. "You are a Nott?" he hesitated. "Brett, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your brother and nephew both died in the war."

Brett sighed. "On the wrong side, no doubt," he said bitterly, shocking Severus.

"Yes," he confirmed, "I'm sorry."

"I could see it in my brother from when we were children, you know," Brett shook his head, "he would turn out a Death Eater. Father actually encouraged him. Once it was clear that I was a Squib, they shipped me off to a muggle boarding school. I went home for the summer, but I had to stay hidden. They didn't want anyone to know that they Squibbed. As soon as I was 17, I transferred as an exchange student to America and got a green card later. I'm a USA citizen now."

"Do you know that you are the last surviving member of your family," Severus asked softly, "and as such, their estate is yours?"

"I don't want it."

"That could be, but if you don't claim it before the end of the year, it will most likely go to the relatives of one of the Death Eaters still on the run."

"I know, I got a letter from your Ministry, explaining the situation. Apparently that's the only reason they consider letting a Squib inherit the estate. Do you really think I should claim it?"

"Yes, I do. There are still Death Eaters out there willing to cause trouble, and leaving such resources in their hands would be unwise. You could always donate the whole lot to charity or something like that."

"I'll think about it." Brett got up. "Meanwhile, thank you for saving my life," he added, staring at the huge branch.

_Back in England_

"Everything set?"

"Yes. Benjamin will lure the Potter brat out and then we kill him."

"Simplistic."

"But effective."

"We'll have to wait and see."

"What, after all your whining about a dead man you know are the voice of reason? We must have given you too much of that drug."

(Exasperated sighs from the others and sounds of yet another strangling going on, followed by a yelp as another needle is inserted in a mad Death Eater)

"MacNair…honestly! Will you ever learn? Now he's gonna be out for a day at least again!"

"Sorry, he's just so easy to bait. It's not like I have much else to do these days, being on the run and all."

"We are ALL on the run, and you don't see US behaving like that!"

"I'm special."

"You're an idiot."

"A SPECIAL idiot."

"A DEAD idiot if you don't stop bickering and concentrate on the plan!"

"It wouldn't matter if he was dead, would it? Rufus would deny it anyway."

"Very funny Ben."

"Thank you, MacNair."

"Sometimes I wonder how The Dark Lord ever got anything done with morons like you in his service."

"Intelligence is not listed as a requirement on a Dark Henchmen jobdescription."

"CAN WE GET ON WITH KILLING POTTER ALREADY!"

"Ok, ok, keep your robe on…"

_Stateside_

Neville was relaxing in the hammock when he saw Severus and Brett approach, back from their holiday.

He smiled happily. Severus looked relaxed and tanned, albeit walking somewhat gingerly still.

"Hey Sev, hi Brett. How was the trip?"

"Very good!" Severus replied, lowering himself on a chair, "we had a lot of fun. Did a lot of riding, I learned how to fish, Brett found out we're wizards, we saw some beautiful scenery…"

Neville shot up. "WHAT!"

Severus innocently continued, "Yes, really, we were at this gorgeous waterfall…"

Brett snorted at Neville's indignant face.

"I'm a Squib, Neville. Sef here saved me when a large branch came down. It would've crushed us if he hadn't…what DID you do?"

Severus shrugged. "It was accidental magic, really, I just reacted. Neville…" he proceeded to explain to him what exactly had transpired.

"…so Brett will be visiting England soon," he concluded.

"Is Neville your real name?" Brett asked, "I know Sef's isn't."

Neville grinned. "No, this is my real name. I doubt I could remember a fake one. Besides, I have no reason to change it."

Brett stared at Severus. Then his eyes widened. "You are Severus Snape!" he exclaimed.

A hand clasped over his mouth. "Shhhh! Don't go shouting that all over the state!" Severus whispered, "though I'm not sure how you found out."

Brett looked at him. "You said you were Neville's teacher. Neville obviously went to Hogwarts, and there has only been one teacher of your age the past decade. But…you are supposed to be…"

"Dead?" Neville supplied, helpful.

"It's a long story, Brett," Severus said, "I'll go get us some beers. Please, whatever you heard about me, don't condemn me before you know everything…"

Two hours later Brett sighed. "Quite some story. You're a brave man, Sev. I guess I understand why you want to keep this quiet, and rest assured, I won't tell anyone."

Neville suddenly grinned.

"What?"

"Harry wrote that they had a little bet going on about whether or not you would cheat and use magic this week. Here, read it."

He watched Severus intently, but instead of the chuckle he expected, Severus went deadly pale.

"Oh Merlin…oh no…Neville, we have to go back, now!"

"Severus? What's wrong?"

"That man! Benjamin Lance! The project, it's a trap! He's a Death Eater!"

_Hogwarts_

"Well, the first day went rather well, don't you think?"

Harry, sitting down in the teacher's lounge with a butterbeer, nodded happily.

"The kids certainly seemed to enjoy themselves, and they learned a lot, no doubt. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the lectures, the staff has obviously put a great deal of effort into this project."

Benjamin agreed. "Definitely. I hope our own project the day after tomorrow will be just as popular."

"Oh, I think it will."

_Stateside_

"You can't go."

"I have to! You can't do this on your own!"

"Severus, it's too risky for you to go!"

"I'm going Neville, we don't know what the trap is and how many Death Eaters are involved, you simply can't do it all on your own."

Neville grumbled. "Oh, fine then. Just…use my cloak. Now, what's the fastest way home?"

"Apparating," Brett said.

They turned to him. In the shock of discovering a Death Eater at Hogwarts they had forgotten about their friend.

"You can Apparate to New York, and take an International Portkey to London. From there you can Apparate to Hogsmeade. Do you think you can take me with you?"

They stared at him. Then they nodded. "Fine, fine, but hurry up. We're apparating to New York in an hour."

An hour later, Severus took a firm hold on Brett's arm and they apparated.

"Now, where do we get that Portkey?" Neville wondered.

"Follow me," Brett said, leading them to a small building in Manhattan.

Upon entering, it seemed like a regular bank. Brett sighed.

"Do you see a gold and green booth to the left?"

"Yes," the other two answered.

"That's where you buy the Portkey. I can't see it. Just ask for an International Portkey to London for three. It should cost about a hundred dollar, not entirely sure."

Neville went to get it while Severus and Brett stayed out of sight.

"I got it," Neville said, returning ten minutes later, holding out a ticket.

"Take it, it will activate as soon as I say the word."

Soon, they felt the tug as Neville spoke the command word he'd been given.

They landed in a backroom of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Oh Merlin, I can't be seen here," Severus said.

"We'll apparate to Hogsmeade right away. Brett, are you staying here? The Ministry is in London, we can come back to take you there later."

"No, I'm coming with you. I've always wanted to see Hogwarts once."

"It could get dangerous."

"I know."

Severus took a firm hold of him again and they once again apparated.

This time they landed on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, on the path that led to Hogwarts. They nearly ran up the path, Severus in invisibility cloak.

Just as they got to the grounds, they saw Harry leave the castle in the direction of the greenhouses.


	11. Chapter 11

"Neville, go find Minerva!" Severus shouted, as he followed Harry.

Neville hesitated, but then rushed off, in search of the Headmistress.

He met Hermione, Ron and McGonagall in the Entrance Hall, on their way out.

"NEVILLE!" they all exclaimed in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

"No time," Neville panted, "Lance…is a…Death Eater…after Harry…Greenhouses."

Three pairs of eyes opened wide, then the professors began to run. Neville took only a second longer to catch his breath before running after them.

Meanwhile, Severus reached the greenhouse just in time to see Lance point his wand at Harry.

"But…Ben…why?" Harry stammered.

"You killed our Master, Potter, and you will pay for that," Lance replied.

Severus could see Harry's defense instincts kicking in and he moved his hand slightly to silently summon his wand.

"Ah, ah, Potter," Lance said, summoning the wand to himself, "that's why I spent so much time with you this year. I got to know how you fight. Now, we are going to walk into the Forbidden Forest where the rest of the group is very excited about seeing you again."

Harry saw Snape appear over Lance's shoulder, but he managed to give no reaction at all.

"Who, Ben? MacNair?"

"Well, yes, but the leader of our little group is Rufus Scrimgeour, of course. He is a little mad, though, he seems to believe…"

Suddenly he felt the tip of a wand on the back of his neck and both wands were taken from his hand.

"Accio wand," Harry said, and the wand that had already been tossed to him flew neatly into his hand.

"Thanks," he flashed a grin at the man behind Lance.

"You're welcome," said a silky voice. Lance gasped.

"No…that can't be…"

"What can't be, Lance?" Snape queried.

Lance collapsed to his knees, face white.

"You are dead! We've all been laughing at Scrimgeour and drugging him up for believing you were alive!"

"Drugging him up?" Harry said, smirking.

Snape sneered. "I'm not dead, no, though it was a close call for a few days."

Hermione, Ron and McGonagall rushed in, followed closely by Neville. They stood panting.

Harry shook his head. "You four need to brush up on your Defense," he said, "rushing in like that!"

"Don't be daft, mate, we already saw Severus had him under control through the glass," Ron said.

"Shall we take him to the Ministry?"

"There are more Death Eaters in the Forest," Harry said, "Almost all the still missing ones, I would think. The important ones, anyway. So we must be careful not to alert them. Scrimgeour is among them, Lance says."

The Death Eater glared, but a quick Stunner from Harry hit him in the chest and he was out.

"How come we never heard that Lance was Death Eater?" Minerva asked.

"He was one of a special team," Severus said, "the equivalent of the Unspeakables. Not even the Inner Circle knew about them all. They were usually not marked on their arms either to prevent discovery."

"We need to act quickly now. Minerva, as Headmistress you control the wards. Tighten them."

"How are we going to catch them all?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed. "If only we had Polyjuice…"

"But we do," Severus said, "I carry a vial with me for emergencies. Have done that ever since we left. But what did you…." He smiled suddenly in understanding.

"Exactly," Harry grinned.

"See them yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Let me see!"

"HEY! Those are my best omnioculars! Give them back! I need them to spy!"

"Peeking at your neighbor's wife is not spying."

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is…"

"SHUT UP! Merlin, when did this Death Eater organization turn into Kindergarten?"

"Since you hmfpmmmh…."

"Why are you holding your hand over his mouth?"

"Because he was going to say something stupid."

"Like what?"

"HEY! GUYS! Look, there's Ben with the Potter brat. He looks like he's drugged up."

"Who, Ben?"

"No, you moron, the brat."

"Well with all the drugging up going on around here lately one can't be too sure. Ooooh I can't wait to see his face…"

The two had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest without problems. The Death Eaters came out of their hiding places, grinning madly.

"Well, Mr Potter, seems you're not so heroic now, are you?"

Harry said nothing.

"How does it feel, being betrayed by one of your _friends _because of your own poor judgement? Now you will die, boy, but not after we've had our fun with you."

"Erm, Rufus? Don't you think it's better to just kill him quickly and get the hell out of here?"

"Shut up! You're ruining the moment. Don't you know all Dark Lords hold speeches to their victims before killing them?"

"YES, and that's what gets the Dark Lords killed in the end, remember?"

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Erm, sorry for interrupting, guys," he raised his voice, "but, really, it's bad manners, you know, fighting in front of the victim."

"Not to mention dangerous," came the voice of Remus Lupin from behind.

"And totally pointless," Neville said from the other side.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALIS" said Hermione, showing common sense, and one of the Death Eaters fell to the ground.

Soon curses flew thick and fast, the surrounded Death Eaters putting up a good fight. Harry confused them by whipping out his wand as if he'd been waiting for the signal all along, but the true horror came when they realized Benjamin Lance was fighting…alongside Harry!

"Ben! Et tu, Brutu?" Rufus moaned.

Ben didn't reply, but sent a very powerful Stunner. Soon the Death Eaters were bound and gagged, and ready for delivery to the Aurors.

**DAILY PROPHET**

**Death Eaters Apprehended at Hogwarts!**

_Yesterday afternoon, the majority of Death Eaters still at large were arrested after they attempted to assassinate Harry Potter, the Man Who Conquered, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mr Potter escaped the attempt on his life unscathed, which is more then can be said for the Death Eaters._

_Thanks to Mr Potter, the public can finally sleep soundly at night, knowing that the last of You Know Who's supporters are taken care of._

"Yet again, no praise for you, Severus," Harry said sadly, "no other then my own thanks. I owe you my life…again!"

"Ah, who's counting," Severus smiled, Polyjuice worn off. "Gah, I'm glad to be myself again, it was no fun being Lance, even if it was only for a little while."

"Still not ready to come out in the open, Severus?" Minerva asked.

He shook his head.

"No, Minerva. Maybe in time I'll be less frantic about people finding out, but for now…I have not only Death Eaters to fear, after all. There are still those on the side of the Light who would love to see me dead."

They sat in Harry's quarters, where Neville and Severus had spent the night. The others had joined them there for breakfast.

Ron had his arm in a sling due to a very nasty hex, but he would be fine in a few days. Hermione complained that it had already been difficult enough to keep him off his broom that very morning and wasn't sure if she could manage a few DAYS.

Severus smiled. "I have some plans, though. Finally. Brett will need someone to manage his affairs here, as he is not inclined to move back to England. So after Neville and I are done travelling, I will become his financial advisor. The Goblins couldn't care less if Severus Snape is alive or not and they're very good with secrets. It will be no problem."

He sighed. "Could I borrow an invisibility cloak? I'd like to go up to your office for a while, Minerva."

The witch smiled. "Of course. Just tell it 'Prepare for Lock Down' once you're in and no one will disturb you."

Harry's cloak covering his entire body, Severus made his way up to the office. He locked it down as Minerva had suggested before removing the cloak. He looked around and finally settled on the painting over the fireplace.

"Hello, my boy," the painted Dumbledore greeted him.

"Hello, father," he smiled, settling on the couch in front of the painting.

"Back already? It has only been a year, I thought you were going to stay away for two."

"Trouble. Benjamin Lance. Harry wrote about the project and mentioned his name. I recognized him as a Death Eater so Neville and I hurried over. It's taken care of now, the remaining Death Eaters have been caught."

"Ah, good. So you'll come back now?"

"Not yet. Next year. I'm not done travelling yet. I'm staying for a week before going back to America with Neville and our friend Brett. Who was born Ferdinand Nott. Perhaps you remember him."

"I do indeed. So the estate goes to him; I'm glad for it. And how have you been, my boy?" the painting's eyes twinkled merrily, "You look well."

"I am well, father. Or at least, on my way to being well." He hesitated. "I've been seeing someone to work through some issues. To find some peace of mind."

"I'm glad, Severus. You needed some help. Is that why you came up here to talk to me?"

Severus nodded. "I know it's not really you, but I figured it might help to say what I need to say to you instead of a slab of marble. Not to mention it would be distracting to see my own name on it."

"Of course, child."

"I love you, you know. I always have, and always will. But I have been so angry with you. I never allowed myself that, and I had to work through that these past months. You manipulated me into obeying you. You knew all my weak spots and you used them to make me do what you wanted me to do, knowing full well how little choice I had. I couldn't afford to be angry with you then. But I was, deep down inside. You did take way too much for granted. You wouldn't believe me when I said it before, but you did. Killing you…killing you nearly killed me, too. I love you, father, but you made me so mad."

The portrait nodded sadly, but did not reply.

Severus just sat there, staring at the fire, for a long while.

"It took me a while, but I have forgiven you now. I hope that means something to you…"

"It does, child, it does. I knew from the moment I asked you to kill me that you might not be able to forgive me. It means a lot to me that you do."

Severus sighed. "If only I had some way of letting you, the real you, know that."

"You will be able to tell me one day," the portrait said, "but I suspect, knowing me, that I keep an eye on you anyway, so I might already know. Have you forgiven yourself, as well, Severus?"

The potions master watched the flames lick the wood, and considered the question for a while before looking up at the portrait again. He smiled slightly.

"It's a long road yet, father, but I do think I'm getting there. I'm getting there."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N. Finally. Last chapter. Thanks to all of those who read&reviewed.**

Two days later Neville and Severus sat down to have dinner with their friends. They had, by necessity, hidden out in Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's secret rooms, and had made good use of their time by cooking the various dishes they had been introduced to on their travels. Severus even made sure there were plenty of chocolate desserts for Remus, who was the first to arrive. Of course, they then had to take turns batting the man's hands away from the sweet stuff, or it'd all have been gone before anyone else got a chance to taste it.

Hermione and Ron arrived next, and handed both Neville and Severus a beautifully decorated piece of parchment.

Opening it, they saw it was an invitation to their wedding in six months.

Severus looked at them in surprise. "You're inviting me to your wedding?" he said in disbelief.

They nodded. "Of course," Ron said.

"It's not going to be a very big wedding. Just our family and closest friends," Hermione added, "Will you please try to be there?" she gave them both an imploring look, "it wouldn't be the same without the two of you."

Severus went slightly red and mumbled something about checking on the silverware as he turned and walked away.

Neville smiled brightly at them.

"Hermione, I could just kiss you," he said happily, and then blushed. "Sorry Ron, I didn't mean…"

Ron laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "'S ok mate. I know what you meant. We just want him to know he's not alone in the world anymore. Besides, now that he's himself, more or less, without the Horcrux, he's an ok guy. Still a major sarcastic streak, but I can learn to appreciate that."

Harry entered, followed by McGonagall. Both had a pretty dazed look in their eyes and were clearly unsure if they wanted to laugh, cry, or flee in terror. The others stared at them.

"What on earth happened to you two?" Severus voiced the first question in everyone's mind.

Minerva blushed and sat down, shaking her head.

Harry cleared his throat. "We erm…we went to the Ministry today, to oversee the questioning of the Death Eaters…" he began before looking distinctly nauseated.

"I think I better just put it in a Pensieve," he mumbled, "I definitely want to get rid of this image. It'll ruin my appetite."

Both he and Minerva draw a silver strand and deposited it in the Pensieve.

The others looked at them, before entering.

"MacNair! MacNair!"

"Don't talk to me, Rufus. You got us into this mess."

"But I was right, wasn't I? Snape is alive."

"And we can't tell a living soul because that Potter brat put some sort of charm on us."

"True. But I WAS right. So that means…"

"Means what?"

"Remember what you said you'd do if I was right about Snape?"

"What…" comprehension dawned. "Oh no, absolutely not. You can't be serious. We're about to get KISSED and you are thinking of some silly bet?"

"Well, consider it my last request, then. Besides, you made a promise. You risk losing your magic if you don't do it."

"Yeah, like THAT is much of an issue now…"

"You wouldn't want to die a Muggle, now, would you?"

"I hate you."

"Same here. But you're still going to do it."

"I HATE YOU!"

"Too bad I don't have one of those needles ready, you know, the ones you kept sticking into me…"

"Shut up, Rufus."

"Shut up, Rufus."

"Shut up, Rufus."

"Yeah, yeah, I get the point…"

The five pairs of eyes watching suddenly widened when they were standing in the Hall of the Ministry, as guards tried to get a naked MacNair, dressed only in a bodypainted Dark Mark, off the Fountain he had climbed on, dancing like mad and singing the themesong from Titanic.

They left abruptly.

"Now that was…" Remus started,

"Disturbing," Neville added.

"Wicked," Ron said,

"Despicable," Hermione frowned,

"Funny," Severus grinned.

They all turned to stair at him.

"What?" he asked innocently, "didn't you think so?"

"I can certainly appreciate the irony," Minerva said, "but the sight made me a bit queasy."

"A bit?" Harry said, shocked, "I nearly gauged out my eyeballs. It was definitely NOT a sight I care to ever see again."

"Fat chance, the Dementors got him," Ron said, "Now, what's for eats?"

_Epilogue_

Neville said that since he started this story, he would let me finish it. Not that he left me all that much to write, mind you.

As I read what he wrote, I shuddered with fear, wept with laughter and sat for hours just quietly remembering.

I remember Albus more clearly now that I am no longer overcome with emotions at the mere mention of his name. I can recognize now that he was human and made mistakes, but that he did love me. I still fondly call him 'father' in my mind. Minerva got me my own portrait of him. I put it up in my study, and it is a comfort to see him smile at me when I look up from researching yet another potion. Of course he also still gives me that infuriating twinkle and admonishes me about the lack of lemon drops in my office.

I have done many things in my life that I was, and am, ashamed of, even though I eventually managed to forgive myself enough to live a healthy, fulfilling life. But over the years, I have also done a number of things that still make me smile with pride and happiness. Yes, I said happiness. I am no longer the bad tempered greasy git, just get USED to it for Merlin's sake. These days, I even smile at small children. Of course, they are my friends' children, but none the less.

Anyway, one of those accomplishments I was talking about before I was so rudely interrupted by your disbelieving stares, is the potion I mentioned to Neville when we were in the USA.

It took me the rest of our remaining year of travel, but eventually I managed to brew the five potions mentioned in the book, and found the right method to brew them into a single potion that, when a drop of blood of the patient is added, reverses both the effects of prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus, as well as the effects of the Dementor's Kiss.

No, I do not plan to bring back the Death Eaters. Many people in the course of the war, had been Kissed when the Dementors joined Voldemort. With that potion, I was finally able to bring them back to their loved ones.

When I told Neville about the potion he stared at me, his mouth open and eyes wide. I have known for years that he is actually quite an intelligent young man, but at that moment he did look like the incompetent little twit that blew up his cauldron and soaked the entire class in a…product…that caused huge boils, in his very first potions lesson.

After I told him to close his mouth and take the crate with prepared potions to London, he rushed over and hugged me.

Of course I threatened to slip something nasty in his tea if he did it again, but he must've seen the way my lips kept moving upwards despite my strict internal orders to stay put in sneer-mode.

He went to live in London after that, to take care of his parents until they were ready to go back to living on their own. St Mungo's offered him a position on their healing staff and if I'm correct, he'll be chief of staff before he is 50.

Oh, and he DID go back to that motel where we stayed during our memorable Journey-To-Hogwarts-By-Stolen-Car. He took one look at the receptionist girl and again fell head over heals in love. The feeling was mutual, and eventually they married. His grandmother wasn't pleased that he had chosen a Muggle girl, but when neither of their two children turned out to be squibs (they set her vulture topped hat on fire at the age of three, for which I will be eternally grateful. As a token of my appreciation, I saved them from the wrath of their greatgrandmother by claiming I had done it. For a moment I truly feared she was going to spank ME instead, had Neville not burst into fits of hysterical laughter at that precise moment) she accepted her daugher-in-law and even learned to appreciate shopping at Muggle Malls.

Something I never learned to do. Despite my wife's attempts to drag me to a mall – yes, I ended up marrying a Muggle – I steadfastly withstand her nagging.

A few years after Neville married Carly, I met Amber at the Opera. We ended up having a stormy romance, breaking up at least three times and getting back together within a week, before I realized I couldn't live without our goodnatured bickering anymore. I proposed to her exactly five years after being declared dead.

Neville encouraged me to tell her the truth about who I really am BEFORE we married. She stared dumbfoundedly at me, yelled at me for a minute or so, and then proceeded to kiss me passionately. (Don't give me that look. My wife says I'm not a bad kisser at all.) She really is a remarkable woman.

Our wives plan to go shopping today. Neville and I agreed to come along on the condition that we are allowed to sit in a quiet cafe, have a drink, and talk about our work all we want while they empty our vaults. I will let him read my epilogue then. I know we will talk about the old times a bit, and smile as we again realise that our travelling days are gone.


End file.
